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Icon sizes you need to support iOS 12 and Android Oreo devices.

With the explosion of mobile devices, it keeps getting more difficult to keep track of the myriad icon sizes required for mobile apps. This post simply lists the required sizes and uses for iOS and Android devices (as of now).

When creating an application icon, it is best to start with an image that is (at least) the size of the largest icon necessary, which is currently 1024 x 1024, and then reduce that image to the necessary sizes, reducing level of detail as/if necessary for smaller icons.

iOS App Icons

As of Xcode 10 (iOS 12), Apple iOS devices have application icons for the app on three different device types (iPhone, iPad, and iPad Pro), the store, spotlight (search), settings, and notifications, and these icons may need to be provided in single (unadorned), double (“@2x”), or triple (“@3x”) scale factors.

For a “universal” app, you need to provide icons in 13 resolutions (for 15/18/19 different uses, depending on how you count). iPhone only apps need 8 resolutions; iPad only apps need 9 resolutions.

Here is a list of the iOS icon sizes, along with a color-coded list of the uses:

1024 x 1024

App Store – all applications (<title>.png)

180 x 180

iPhone application @3x (<title>_iphone@3x.png)

167 x 167

iPad Pro application @2x (<title>_pro@2x.png)

152 x 152

iPad application @2x (<title>_ipad@2x.png)

120 x 120

iPhone application @2x (<title>_iphone@2x.png)

iPhone spotlight @3x (<title>_search@3x.png)

87 x 87

iPhone settings @3x (<title>_settings@3x.png)

80 x 80

iPhone spotlight @2x (<title>_search@2x.png)

iPad spotlight @2x (<title>_search@2x.png)

76 x 76

iPad application (<title>_ipad.png)

60 x 60

iPhone notification @3x (<title>_notify@3x.png)

58 x 58

iPhone settings @2x (<title>_settings@2x.png)

iPad settings @2x (<title>_settings@2x.png)

40×40

iPad spotlight (<title>_search.png)

iPhone notification @2x (<title>_notify@2x.png)

iPad notification @2x (<title>_notify@2x.png)

29 x 29

iPad settings (<title>_settings.png)

20 x 20

iPad notification (<title>_notify.png)

Android App Icons

Android icon requirements had remained fairly consistent, but as of Android 8.0 (Oreo, API 26), those application icons are now classified as “legacy”, though still required for support on earlier devices (i.e., 85.4% of the market); the latest devices can use “adaptive” icons. All applications should have a store icon.

For most Android apps, you should provide application icons in 6-8 resolutions (none of which overlap with the iOS resolutions).

Note that some legacy icons can (technically) be omitted, but those sizes will be generated by the Android system from other sizes, and not necessarily the best resolution (i.e., a larger icon may be generated from a lower resolution icon, which looks poor). Therefore, only the low density (ldpi) icon is considered optional; no modern devices are low density, and if one was it would necessarily generate the icon from a larger source.

Adaptive Icons

Adaptive icons were introduced in Android Oreo to allow the system to perform visual effects with the shape and/or contents of an application icon. In order for this to be supported, adaptive icons need to be separated into foreground and background layers; the foreground contains the important content of the icon, toward the center, and the background is an image or color that may provide branding but could be clipped.

background – color or 108 x 108 image to be composited with foreground

The foreground and background may be moved or sized independently before being composited together, and the resulting image will likely be cropped into an arbitrary shape; Android reserves an 18 pixel border for these kind of visual effects.

Conclusion

For a mobile app to support all recent iOS and Android phones and tablets, you will need to create about 20 icons, in the resolutions above, including separate foreground and background layers for adaptive icon support. If possible, start by creating an App Store icon (1024 x 1024) from a separate foreground and background. Use that as a source icon to generate the smaller Google Play, iOS, and Android legacy icons, adjusting detail as necessary. Finally, resize the foreground and background layers appropriately to generate the components for the adaptive icons. (Then, take a deep breath.)

Now you are ready to implement your application. 😉 Of course, if you want to support Android TV, Apple TV, Android Wear, Apple Watch, Android Auto, and/or Apple CarPlay…

Awesome puzzle game now available for almost any mobile device.

On Tuesday, Digital Gamecraft released both Demolish! Pairs 1.0 for Android and Demolish! Pairs 1.2 for iOS. This pair of releases represents a recommitment to this product that is enjoyed by game players on a daily basis.
Demolish! Pairs 1.0 for Android is the first release on the Android platform, after numerous requests, and it runs on 99.7% of Android tablets and phones.
Demolish! Pairs 1.2 for iOS is a long-awaited update release that adds support for the latest iOS devices, including the iPhone X, and resolves compatibility issues with iOS 11.
The goal of Demolish! Pairs is to remove pairs of adjacent, matching blocks until the entire board is cleared. Each time a pair of blocks is removed, the blocks above (if any) drop down and empty columns are filled by pushing the remaining columns together.

Release Date

The release date, September 11, is significant, if somewhat coincidental. (We decided to release the Android version on that date, and the Apple approval of the iOS version just happened to arrive later on the same day.)
Demolish! Pairs began life as a secondary project in the early years of Digital Gamecraft. After many years of discussing the idea, we started actual game design in August 1999, and we completed the first playable (Windows) prototype shortly thereafter. A couple of years later, we made the decision to proceed with Demolish! (as it was known at the time) as a primary development project, and we were making good progress for a few weeks.
The original design theme was an actual building that was being demolished brick by brick, and the gameplay was fun. However, the events that occurred on that date 17 years ago suddenly made the idea of tearing down a building very disturbing, and it became clear immediately that the game could not continue along the same path. We initially renamed the project to Diminish, making the destruction as abstract as possible, before finally shelving the whole thing for almost a decade.
In early 2011, we picked up the project again, deciding to continue with the abstract design and target mobile devices, but to return to the original name. We had a number of different play mechanics that we were implementing, but determined that the one with selecting only pairs of blocks was both unique and the most obviously skillful, so we focused on that particular mechanic. Demolish! Pairs was born.
The dramatic history of this game does not end there, but this post does. 😉

This inexpensive console has some real merit.

Last week, as I was continuing to learn Android development, I was finally nudged into looking into the new OUYA console. For those unfamiliar, the OUYA is an Android-based gaming console that sells for less than $100. It got its start with a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign and, while it is not intended to compete with the PS4 and XBone launches, it is a legitimate player in the console market.

The reason that we considered the OUYA is that it is designed from the outset for open development, which makes it accessible not only for established indie developers like Digital Gamecraft, but also for anybody with an interest and just a little ability, and those who actually produce marketable games can find their titles listed right alongside AAA developers. The unique thing about OUYA games is that all of them are free to try (so it is, in essence, a shareware console).

Acknowledging that it was a tiny investment, not to mention cheaper than most Android tablets or phones, we made our order on the spur of the moment, and 3 days later our OUYA arrived at the doorstep:

Of course, December is winter here in Michigan, which means that I had to wait a few hours for the electronics to come slowly up to room temperature. During the wait, I contemplated how I had heard various complaints about the OUYA, but thus far, everything was very professional, exceeding my expectations. Meanwhile, the contents of the box just sat on my auxiliary desk in anticipation:

The first thing that surprised me was how small the console itself was; it literally fits in ones hand, and it is smaller than the controller in two of three dimensions. I was also surprised, and delighted, to find that the box included an HDMI cable, a very nice touch that is usually overlooked (cynically: deliberately left out to make more retail profits). Indeed, if one counted the retail prices of the controller, HDMI cable, and batteries, the console itself was quite inexpensive indeed. 🙂

Finally, the time came to set everything up, and I ran into my first issue. Therefore, I will start with the (few) cons that I experienced. The OUYA is a bit short on traditional documentation, so there is nothing explaining how to install the batteries in the console! I challenged our local console expert, and he was unable to figure it out, either. (A Google search reveals that we were hardly unique in our confusion.) Also, after a bit of use, it becomes clear that the OUYA has no ventilation to speak of, so it becomes a rather effective hand warmer in a chilly office, but this will likely be a liability in summer. Returning to the initial complaint, it turns out that the black area in the middle of the controller is a touch pad (!), which fact I did not discover on my own.

On the other hand, there were more important pros. The installation process, including the downloading of a system update right away, was embarrassingly simple, especially when compared to the PS3, as well as humorous (even in the license agreement). The display is extremely clear, even on my poor 720p office/development television. The whole interface is straightforward and easy to understand, and the purchase process is just about as painless as it could possibly be. The controller (contrary to some opinions) is solid and comfortable to use, and, of course, this whole system was inexpensive.

The available game software is certainly the most fundamental aspect of a console, and unsurprisingly, this is a bit of a mixed bag, at least in my limited experience (so far). You have top games, such The Cave (currently #1), which delivers everything that one would expect, and others, like Amazing Frog? The Hopping Dead (#3), which seems to have come up a few weeks short of prime time. I really wanted Pinball Arcade to be as good as their attention to detail, but alas, the delay between clicking a controller button and the flipper reaction makes the game totally unplayable. Conversely, and promisingly, the OUYA version of Galaxoid, by lone developer Jacob Davis, is loads of fun (for just a few bucks). This variety makes the ability to try games that much more valuable.

The next step is development. Though I spent a little time playing with the OUYA as a consumer would, I have been too busy with paying work to install the ODK (OUYA Development Kit) and build anything for this new console. You can be sure that I will post more about the OUYA after that happens.